


always japan

by tsukisemi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other, Slow Burn, almost kissing!!!!, being stuck in a closet type beat, going on adventures, maybe eventual kissing too, nishinoya rlly said fan behavior in this one, tbh so tooth-rotting, tbh this is probably one of the cutest things ive ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28626489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukisemi/pseuds/tsukisemi
Summary: the three times in which nishinoya was your best friend, and the one time he was more
Relationships: Nishinoya Yuu/Reader, Nishinoya Yuu/You
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	always japan

**Author's Note:**

> this might be one of my most favorite things that i’ve written so hopefully you guys enjoy this fic too :D just full on FLUFF. tell me what you thought of it if you have the time!

**EVERYTHING ABOUT NISHINOYA WAS ALWAYS GO GO GO.** His life is chock full of energy and activities, he can barely remember any of them. He doesn’t have the time to stay put in one spot, he doesn’t have time to sit down and recharge — he’s always running and running and barely remembering anything in his calendar. But somehow, amidst the mess he calls his life, the one thing he’s always able to recall is going to your house every Friday night.

He never misses it — no matter how tough school was, no matter how long practice keeps them, no matter how tired he is — he’s always at your house on Friday night, and everyone knows this.

Common questions have definitely flown by in the familiar words of: “where’s Noya? Aren’t we all getting pork buns together?” or “Why did Noya run out of the gym so quickly?” and all the second year members always answer in a unison — “At (Y/N)’s.” accompanied by knowing looks.

Which explains why Nishinoya’s busy bumbling self is seated beside you, eating dinner, conversation swayed by your common hatred for school and love for your mother’s cooking. Mid-conversation, you find Nishinoya sneakily trying to steal food off of your plate which elicits you to smack his hand away, mouth full as you shoot him a playful glare.

“I’ll stop stealing your food if you tell me how amazing I am.” His face is lit up with joy as usual, pink dusting his cheeks as he sends you his signature smile, and you can’t help but smile fondly at the boy seated next to you, especially with his cheeks puffed up with food and his grin reaching his eyes.

You snap back to reality when he, yet again, tries to steal pieces of your food which earns him yet another lovely smack and a teasing poke of your tongue. When you scooch away playfully, he’s moving his chair at the same pace — if not, closer to you than he was before.

He’s mocking you, imitating your actions from earlier but there’s a smile tugging on his lips and you couldn’t help but smile right back at him, heart full of comfort and warmth, that you don’t realize Nishinoya looking at you as if you put the sun and stars in the sky as if you were the butterflies in his stomach whenever he was with you. 

The sweet moment is cut short when Nishinoya slides an arm around you mid-conversation. You glance at his arm suspiciously before moving to narrow your eyes at him, his smile is mischievous and he’s shrugging to try and hide the laugh that’s threatening to leave his lips.

You’re about to ask him why the hell he was trying to coddle you while the two of you were eating when his hand makes contact with your cheek, and you immediately recognize it as the familiar texture of icing from the cake the two of you bought on your way home.

Your mouth falls open, and in response, you’re quick to fill your utensils up with food from your plate before you’re tossing it at his face, smiling triumphantly. He doesn’t let your victory linger on for too long before he’s smearing more of his food on your face. 

He’s trying to hold back his laughter, _really_ trying, but when you grumpily throw some more beans his way, he can’t help but laugh - and it felt so good to be laughing with someone, instead of being laughed at, sometimes he forgets he’s only human and he’s not immune to pain. Then again, he smiles so much and he’s always so giving that it’s easy to convince anyone he’s not bothered by nearly anything.

The smug look on his face doesn’t help the infatuation that’s building up from your stomach, but you’re quick to try and let it sink, preferring for it to remain as pits of debris before you can truly figure out your feelings. You’d often find yourself weighing the options of confessing, but the thought of losing the one person that made you feel so alive was too much of a risk.

Unbeknownst to you, Nishinoya’s been stuck dealing with those thoughts too.

You try to flick your left-over food towards him but he’s quick to grip your wrist, and he’s sticking his tongue out at you at your attempt to even the game, and when he reaches out to smear sauce all over your face, you’re demanding for a truce.

“Tell me I’m the greatest, most funniest and handsome person you’ve ever met and then I’ll consider it.” His tone is playful and he’s giving you a devilish look that you choose to be apathetic at how he’d been redundant on _most funniest._ His smile was too wide - and while you know it’s not a hard task to say those words because they’re true, the thought of getting a rise from your best friend is much more worth it.

“I don’t know… I don’t think Tanaka would appreciate me handing the title to someone else.” The look of betrayal that crosses his face sends you into immediate laughter, and he’s deflating like a lost puppy. “My two best friends cannot be plotting against me, besides I thought I was your number one! We’ll travel the world together someday, you know.” 

You take his face in your hands and the soft smile you’re giving him is enough for the bursts of energy to come back and in no time, he’s exaggerating his pout to try and get you to take back your words. “You are the greatest, most funniest…”

He’s waiting for you to continue, a triumphant grin hidden behind his faux expression of upsetness, but he’s too caught up in the way your face is inches apart from one another that he doesn’t notice your hand deviating from his cheek to take a hand full of icing, and just when he’s about to tell you to keep going, he’s met with a hand full of cream, and the gasp he lets out sounds like pure and utter betrayal. 

Before he can counter attack, the familiar voice of your mother cuts through the chaos, and he’s mouthing “this isn’t over” at you while he’s cleaning up the table so it isn’t much of a hassle for your mother. He knows not to worry from the hint of laughter in your mother’s tone.

Years of friendship has gotten her accustomed to you and Nishinoya’s antics, so she simply tells the both of you to clean up as she takes your plates from the tables so she could start washing up. “Sorry!” Nishinoya’s grin is cheeky, and your mom is quick to tell him it’s alright - besides, she’s never seen her child as happy as you are when you’re with him, and Nishinoya has grown to be a significant part of your family as he’d practically been stuck to your hip since childhood.

When your mom finishes up the small talk, you and Nishinoya face each other to look at the damage you both had done, and god, the two of you looked so ridiculous that you’re hurling towards each other in laughter, tears almost leaving your eyes as you try and pant for air. 

After the hefty task of cleaning up, you’re both making your way up to your room and in no time, Noya’s sprawled on your couch, bag of stolen snacks from your kitchen in his hands (despite just eating dinner), his legs tangling within yours as he makes grand gestures with his hands to tell you what happened in his day, topics he wasn’t able to gloss over during dinner (he claims the hand gestures help him explain better, not that you don’t already know, but you allow him to tell you again if it meant he’d keep smiling like that). 

The movie playing is long forgotten and deemed as background noise as the two of you continue to chat about your days. The moment you yawn, Nishinoya is grabbing onto your hand and pulling you towards his side. 

You’re trying to ignore the familiar feeling of butterflies swaying from your stomach towards your heart, because you’re best friends, you’ve cuddled more times than you can count - but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to ignore the bubbling yearning that’s screaming in your system. 

His lips part just enough for a comfortable sigh to leave his lips, and he’s tucking his head under your chin, hands resting under your shirt and on normal days, you’d complain about how cold they were, but you today - you can’t seem to push away the peaceful looking boy.

His brown eyes, glinting with the light of your lamp, trail over the collection of photos on your wall and he finds himself smiling at the polaroid from when you two were kids; he’s pulling a silly face at the camera and you’re standing beside him giving your brightest smile. The photo beside it is when you two had just graduated from middle school, and he’s hugging you so tightly. The sight of you reminds him it’s okay to stop running for a while.

He lets his eyes lock onto yours just in time to see you drift into a peaceful slumber. With him, it was always colors and food fights and brightness and gentle hugs and safety.

* * *

**NISHINOYA HAS A KNACK FOR DOING HIS SIGNATURE ROLLING THUNDER** whenever you were around to watch their practice, and his teammates liked to make fun of him for it. He didn’t mind though — somehow the sound of your laughter made up for Tsukishima’s snide remarks or the second year’s obnoxiously loud giggles. 

They wonder how you hadn’t caught on towards Nishinoya’s feelings, but then again, your friends wonder the same thing about him.

When you finished your club, you still had about 20 minutes before Nishinoya would end practice, which prompted a few of your friends to walk with you whilst you made your way towards the gym to observe the remainder part of Nishinoya’s practice.

“I know he finds you cute, so has he flirted with you?”

“You find him cute too, it’s only fair. When will he make a move?”

You wave them off, laughing nervously as you shrug your shoulders. “Me and Yuu are just best friends.”

“And you really expect us to believe that?” Their eyebrows are perked up and they’re looking at you with so much conviction you’re convinced they’ve figured out that you’re madly in love with him, but before they could say anything else, you excuse yourself to get inside the gym.

Your friends leave you to your own devices, and you can hear one last “you’re whipped!” before they make their way out of the campus and start their trek towards the comfort of their own homes.

The moment Nishinoya’s eyes meet yours, an extra surge of excitement fills him and his face is completely lit up. And for what seemed like forever, the only words that really left his mouth while he was playing his practice match was his signature “rolling thunder!”.

You didn’t really mind, then again, you did find it quite admirable - especially with the way he’d look at you every single time he’d receive the ball - especially with the way his grin would grow tenfold when you send him a small thumbs up and a smile to indicate that you did, infact, see his wonderful receive.

You remain seated on the bench beside Yachi while they finish up practicing, and chaos is spilling from the gym. Kageyama and Hinata are arguing over something that only they could understand - Tanaka and Nishinoya are running around and excitedly trying to talk to each other between desperate gasps for air as practice had taken much of the breath they needed.

All of this, you didn’t mind. In fact, in a way, this had become a place of comfort, and you found serenity within the sound of pure and utter mess and the boys who you had become really close friends with. How could you not? Nishinoya would babble about you, even when you weren’t there. Admittedly, his team had told you they had known almost everything about you before even getting the chance to meet you.

And aside from the overbearing boys who’d grown protective of you over the course of knowing you, there was just a certain stillness to the air that allowed for you to breathe, that allowed you to sneak in an unforced smile - most especially your best friend who was excitedly waving at you from his spot on the court.

In this gym, with Nishinoya glancing at you everytime he gets an insane ball, there is no forced smile. There is no burden in your head. There is only your best friend smiling brightly at you. There is only the sound of the ball being rallied towards opposite sides of the court. There is only peace.

Or at least you thought, before you’re struck in the head with a volleyball and the wooden floor makes contact with your butt. You’re too shocked to say anything and there's a quiet ringing in your ears, almost like static, which didn’t allow for you to notice Nishinoya’s panicked look.

There’s childish shrieks and multiple footsteps heading your way, frantic apologizes from - Hinata? You can’t quite tell because Nishinoya’s striking voice is cutting through their murmurs and mutters and he’s asking if you’re okay. Your face is in his hands and his eyes are searching yours. 

The nod of your head is meek, but it’s enough for him to start trying to assess the damage, even going as far as asking Sugawara for help even though the ball never really did cause major harm, and everyone could see that. Everyone except Nishinoya whose worry just kept growing and growing. His voice is laced with so much concern that you’re starting to second guess whether you were really okay even though you were totally positive that you were not injured at all. He was just speaking with so much care that you’re starting to believe that maybe he was right, maybe you were injured.

He doesn’t let go of you after that, excusing himself from practice so that you could begin your trek home earlier than usual.

“Still don’t want to admit I’m the greatest, most funniest handsome person you’ve ever met?”

That day, you were introduced to the sight of a really concerned Nishinoya, different from all the times he’d been concerned about you. It was different to when you scraped your knee at age eleven, or when he chased away that boy trying to hit on you at the age of fifteen.

This time, his features were laced with something else, something you couldn’t quite place yet and you’re only reassured over and over again of how much he really cares about you.

* * *

**NISHINOYA LIKES TO DO EVERYTHING HE’S TOLD NOT TO** which is why the two of you are currently running away from your seething teacher. You’re flowing with so much adrenaline, and you’re slowly starting to lose feeling of your legs from the distance you’ve managed to run, but Nishinoya’s hand in yours is enough to keep your legs moving, unceasing.

You’re reminded that your best friend is never afraid of anything — he’s always able to break you out of your shell and allow for you to live a little. He keeps you grounded with his cheap clothes and messy hair making you playlists you never asked for.

It was a harmless prank, really. The bucket of whipped cream was originally supposed to fall on the head of one of your school bullies, but instead, it had fallen on your teacher. That didn’t make it less of an enjoyable sight though which sent the two of you racing through the hallways of Karasuno High, trying to avoid suffering the inevitable consequences of your actions.

You’re tightly holding onto each other’s hand, sprinting the distance of the school. “This way.” He’s tugging at your hand, pulling you around the corner before shoving you inside the janitor’s closet, your desperate pants being the only sound within the close space of the room. Your knees are grazing each other and you’re both trying to peek out of the door to see if you’re close to being caught.

Your heart is beating erratically in your chest, with his rhythm dancing a similar beat against yours. His lips are drawn in a wide smile, sweat dripping down his forehead as he breathes heavily.

“Doesn’t it feel good to just live? And if anything goes south, don’t worry. I’ll take it all! Nothing new from the coolest senpai this school has ever seen.” He’s grinning brightly at you, thumbs pointing to himself with a smirk slowly starting to replace the bright smile that was gracing his _pretty_ features.

Before you can respond, you see the familiar head of hair pass by the closet the two of you were cramped in. By instinct, you reach out to cover his mouth. You continue to look outside the door, and he follows suit because you two did not just bolt through the entire distance of the school just to be caught _that_ quickly. And the two of you do a good job at keeping quiet for a while, but the moment your eyes meet, you burst out into a hysterical laughter. 

He’s gripping your shoulders and your gripping his arms, and your sides are hurting so much from laughing. The image of you alone, of you cackling to yourself, not aware of how enchanting you look or how beautiful you sound is the purest definition of heaven to Nishinoya. 

Time slowed, and stilled. It was just the two of you in the empty, sun-lit room.

And maybe it was the thrill of getting caught, or the spur of the moment, or the fact that if you moved a few inches, your lips would finally be able to meet with his (the way you’ve dreamed of) but you found yourself happy. Truly, completely happy to be in this moment — with your best friend whose eyes are shining like a thousand stars and whose voice dripped with the personification of freedom. He is what it feels like to be free, to be seen, to be heard in a world of constant noise.

In that closet, you finally feel alive, you finally feel unrestrained — loose, free. With him, you feel the most human.

* * *

**THE MOMENT YOU GRADUATED, THE TWO OF YOU WERE QUICK TO** take on the world together — the way you had been planning to at the ripe age of fourteen.

Your parents knew the two of you were ambitious and very capable, and they knew that whatever the two of you currently have is good and this was what the two of you needed. For what reason? They don’t know just yet.

Your parents think that maybe along the way, it’ll help the two of you finally realize how in love you are with each other in the way they’ve always known since the two of you dressed up in some dumb matching costumes at nine, smiling brightly at the camera with Nishinoya pulling the silliest face he could muster to get you to laugh.

You’re cramped with goodbyes and hugs before the two of you step on a plane and start feeling like humans again. No longer trapped, no longer caged — though it never really did feel that way when you were with Nishinoya.

It’s traveling the remains of Japan you two weren’t able to see before going to Italy and to Germany then back to Japan. Australia and Philippines to Canada and Japan again. 

The two of you go fishing, and you breathe against each other’s back as the two of you rest after one of the longest hikes up a literal mountain just to see the sunset. There’s skydiving and deep-sea diving to see the fishes and admire the corals. There’s impromptu car rides that lead you to nowhere and everywhere all at once. There’s dancing to the sound of musicians playing on the street. 

Brazil to New Zealand to Switzerland and still _Japan_. Korea, China, Thailand, _Japan_. Vietnam, Hong Kong, _Japan_. Spain, Russia, Norway, Rome, Egypt and _Japan all over again_.

It’s visiting museums, learning about the history of each country you visit and then you’re off to the oceans and forests and all the beautiful sights you could possibly see. There’s leaping over fences and gates and falling asleep on each other on plane rides. There’s hand holding and secret glances and gentle smiles, and within all of this, you two always end up back in Japan.

It was always Japan no matter where the two of you reached. And maybe it was because that was the place the two of you met each other, where the two of you grew up in, where the two of you realized you had feelings in, the place that brought back so many memories that complimented all the new memories you were making.

Or maybe it was because of the countless times you and he had tried to confess under the shining lights of Tokyo that always led you back there. 

So you continue traveling and traveling, but it always comes back to Japan. Always Japan.

And as luck would have it, you found yourselves back. 

It was a quiet night, the two of you sat in silence, gazing at Karasuno High where you shared almost everything in. That was where you saw him cry for the first time, that was when you finally allowed yourself to be vulnerable around him, where you had your first fight when he got suspended, where the two of you made up and sobbed in each other’s arms, where he made it to Nationals and he spent the whole night celebrating at your house, where he defended you from everyone, and where you defended him right back. Karasuno High was where you leaped into his arms over won matches, and took him in yours over all the losses.

Normally, at night, you’d noticed the school was bathed in a kind of glow from the lights dotted around the building. It had always looked like that from all the times you’d walked home late after waiting for Nishinoya to finish practice. But tonight, under a full moon, it seemed flooded in an ethereal brightness.

So there you two are, in the dark, with the thousands of stars and the infinite sky, with his hand in yours and your head on his shoulders and him smiling and your heart bursting with something you couldn’t quite identify.

He risks a glance at you, and it’s enough to have him double take the decisions he was currently making in his head. Nishinoya has always been the type to say yes before thinking about it, and he hated having to wait. Yearning for you over all those years has brought him into a state of frustration because he knew he had so much to offer, he had so much love to give, he just had _so much_.

Not being able to love you was a different type of emptiness — an emptiness that no adventure, no country, no person could ever fill, and he thinks maybe tonight is finally the night, and for the first time in so long, he’s reminded to stop running. 

Everything about Nishinoya’s life was always go go go, but tonight was different. It was quiet, rare, and he realizes nothing has been chasing him, and he finally stops running for just a single moment.

So in the dark, with the thousands of stars and the infinite sky, with his hand in yours and his head on his shoulders, he finds himself searching for your eyes and in a moment of utter clarity, a direct contrast of the chaos that is his life, he kisses you. 

He finally allows himself to kiss you, and from the way time stilled — just like it did when you were cramped in that closet all those years ago — he knew that what he was doing was right.

He knows that he loves you with no hurry, and he doesn’t know how to love otherwise because you’re all he’s ever known and he has been so in love with you that nothing could ever compare to the feeling of you kissing him back. You were kissing him back, and the overwhelming sensation of having the person he deemed his soulmate, his home, kissing him back allows a few tears to escape, and the moon shines enough for you to see the track of his tears.

He breathes in the scent of your skin, feeling your hair under his fingertips, trying to memorize every single detail of your first kiss. Everything just seemed so right, and in that moment, it was just you and him, under the infinite sky and the thousands of stars. 

In that moment, you were finally something more.


End file.
